Hi I'm Mark. 

As a kid growing up in the '80s, I was outside exploring for most of my childhood. Building huts, climbing trees, riding bikes along the railway tracks up and down hills, and going surfing at the local beaches, I managed to gather a few bumps and bruises along the way. I often think of those days racing around the countryside and how wonderful it was to be active and free of injuries.

During my first few years at school, I played soccer (as it was known back then). I was never really a star player, but I do remember breaking my arm saving a goal once. I must have been about 7 years old. It was my first time breaking a bone, and I didn't quite understand why my arm was hurting so much or why I couldn't tie my shoelaces at the end of the day. I let Mum know, and we made a trip to the hospital to sort it out. A couple of years later I fell off the jungle gym at school playing tag and broke the other arm, I guess that evened me out in the arm department.

As I got older, I moved schools, and unfortunately, soccer wasn't an option at my new school, so I changed my sporting focus to hockey. Hockey became my GAME. I loved it and would practise for hours and hours on our lawn (I must've driven the neighbours mad, with hitting the ball against the wall). 

I played hockey until I was 19 yrs old, then took a few years off to work as a TA to a boilermaker. I really enjoyed working with my hands. There was a gap between jobs when I decided to return to hockey. The struggle was real! 

I found my head wanting to do things my body wasn't yet ready to do! I ruptured my left ACL in the second half of the first game. Just trying to stop suddenly. "Uh Oh", not good. 

I put the surgery off (my knee was very unstable when changing direction but managable day to day). 

I picked up work as a plasterer, where I was walking straight lines, so my knee was okay. I began umpiring hockey and coaching so I could stay involved in the sport. 

Seven years after the injury, I decided I wanted to play again, so I had the reconstructive surgery. My quad had muscle wasted by about 5 cm in circumferance compared to my right quad over that time. After my recovery, I decided to play hockey again. I trained in the off-season, got my fitness back up, and was excited to be back. However, not long into the first half of the first game of the season, I ruptured my right ACL.

I booked straight in and had the surgery within a year of the injury.

My recovery was faster, and I didn't have the same level of muscle wastage as the first knee. One year after the surgery, I was back playing, but this time at a much slower pace. My knees were doing great. What I did start to notice was a new pain was forming in the heels and arches of my feet that became worse and worse after each game. I started to take Panadol and ibuprofen before each match (this wasn't where I wanted to be). After the grand final match, I was in agony and had to use the surrounding fence to leave the sports ground. My feet were too sore to support me. 

I started changing shoes and work boots, trying to get my feet better. Some would work for a few days, but up and down ladders plastering was taking its toll, and I was too sore to get around by 2 pm most days. I booked in with a physiotherapist (they told me it was plantar fasciitis) and had strapping applied, along with the TENS machine, for a time. Neither seemed to benefit me in any way. 

Around this time, I was chatting to my neighbour, who mentioned he had slipped a disc in his lower back and was going to see a 'witch doctor' (a friend from school). I asked for his friend's details so I could see them too. 

I was booked in the very next week. After my initial assessment with a quick explanation of what it was about, I received a treatment, 

I left with high hopes, as the pain in my feet was gone. I didn't fully understand how it worked at the time, but somehow it just made so much sense to me... 

It wasn't to last. Two days later I was back in pain, but it wasn't the same pain. It had moved. The next week, I went back, and again, the feet felt amazing. Once again the pain came back.

I booked in for a third and final time, saying to myself, "this is it. If this doesn't solve it, I'm not coming back!" Once again, I had the same experience, and the pain came back "I'll just have to live with it," was my thought.

Fast-forward four to five months. I hop out of bed one morning and, As I'm walking around the foot of the bed, and it dawns on me: I HAVE NO PAIN. I immediately start thinking, "Wow, how long have I been doing this without noticing the lack of pain? Had it been months? Had it been weeks? Or was this the first day?

"Accept what is... NOW, see the GOOD."

The experience changed my life and inspired me to train as a ConTact C.A.R.E. Practitioner. This involved three years of weekend courses and having to travel to Ngatea for the last two years of courses. I became qualified in January 2023

I have only recently hung up my trowels after 20 years of plastering, and started offering my ConTact CARE services here in Whangarei full-time.

With no two days the same, it is interesting work that has helped me grow as a person. It satisfies my need to use my hands, and help others in my community when they need it most.

Movement AWAY from pain is the ethic of ConTact C.A.R.E. work.